research * the future * culture

While I was in Seattle recently (scroll down for photos in the navbar to your right), my friend Jerry took me to lunch at the Wild Wheat Bakery Café & Restaurant in the south end. (I ate a delightful salmon tostada salad, then walked out with a squishably soft loaf of garlic rosemary bread and […]

For your listening pleasure: That’s Steve Reich, courtesy of Karl Schroeder, who I woke up for crépes on Saturday, and who is an expert in obscure and improbable rocketry. Other discussions included, in no particular order: Racefail 09 Paranoia Agent The Shine Anthology Mushishi Twitter This MDES programme The Fleet Foxes Kings, and why you […]

I had a good weekend. It involved learning Japanese, visiting The ROM, and learning how to play Crokinole from Karl Schroeder, who is enough of a crack shot that he can manipulate the board such that you might feel a little bit better about your total lack of hand-eye coordination, until you realise what he’s […]

It is the task of every generation to re-make civilization. Participating in that process actively, rather than accidentally, is an exciting privilege. -Karl Schroeder, over afternoon tea. (Spending time with Karl always reminds me of what a beginner I am.)

Madeline Ashby…

...is a science fiction writer, strategic foresight consultant, and immigrant living in Toronto. She writes a column for the Ottawa Citizen. She is represented by Anne McDermid & Associates, and IAM Sports & Entertainment. You can buy her novels here. Her short fiction has appeared in Nature, FLURB, Tesseracts, Imaginarium, and Escape Pod. Her other essays and criticism have appeared at BoingBoing, io9, WorldChanging, Creators Project, Arcfinity, and Tor.com.